Finding the Fallen

Chapter 23

As he stepped into the whirlwind, Merik was surrounded by swirling jets of air that should have knocked him back. Instead, all he felt was a gentle breeze wrapping itself around his body. A flash of what he thought was lightning caused him to stop short of his goal. His head suddenly ached as a memory came rushing back.

Jade was lying limp in his arms in the healing pool behind the quarry. He had been listening to her heart, his head pressed against her thin chest. A single tear ran down the side of her face, mirroring his own as he realized she was gone. He raised his head slightly and looked at her face in the light of the single candle. She looked peaceful, ready for whatever afterlife she faced.

As he closed his eyes and laid his head on her chest once again, he realized the forest had become unnervingly silent around them. He glanced up, wondering if danger lurked nearby, but he didn't have long to ponder that thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a thin white wisp rise from Jade's open mouth, causing him to gasp in surprise. He watched the softly glowing wisp rise hesitantly above the woman, as if it were not sure it wanted to leave her just yet.

Rather than fading into the night as he expected, the wisp hovered just above Jade's body expectantly. Unsure of himself, but somehow sensing no harm would befall him, he reached out to see if he could touch the mysterious thing. It pulled away from him at first, but then drew closer, eventually wrapping itself around his arm in what could only be described as a loving gesture.

It caressed him for a soft moment, and then with barely a whisper, it was gone, disappearing into the blackness that surrounded him. He could not tell at the time if he had been hearing things or the wisp had actually spoken to him, but now he heard its words clearly. The voice sounded familiar to him. "Thank you," was all it said as it departed from his sight.

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"NO!" Kala yelled, rushing forward. The wind coming off the storm was too intense for her to follow Merik. After a few steps, she was forced back with the rest of the growing crowd of Servants. Logan and Sam approached, Logan leaning heavily on her friend.

"We have to get out of here now, Kala!" Logan yelled in her ear. "There's nothing you can do...they've tried." He gestured to the others standing around her. "Merik's gone. I'm sorry, but we need to go before that sonofabitch lights this place up." To punctuate his statement, lightning crashed down behind them, striking one of the quarry walls. It was then that Kala noticed the remaining Air Servants ringing the camp.

"Look," she yelled at the others, pointing toward the enemy Servants. "We have to stop them! They're helping him..."

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Coming out of the trance with a start, Merik remembered where he was, even though he had no idea how he had managed to get this far. Still, the memory had triggered something within him that urged him on. He began walking again, passing both of the women who had joined Tannish inside the protective circle. With Tannish in his sights now, he continued his lonely march.

Despite the strong winds he knew were whipping around him, he felt nothing more than a gentle breeze as he approached the King. Tannish had his eyes closed, his head back, and his arms open wide. Merik had seen that stance once before. He vowed at that moment he would not allow this lunatic to kill anyone else he loved.

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Sam turned toward the quarry walls, following Kala's gaze. She had noticed earlier that these Air Servants weren't moving around like the others, but hadn't thought anything of it until now. "She's right," she said, releasing Logan and taking a fellow Fire Servant's hand. "Let's go, people."